Harrison Ford has revealed that his daughter, 26-year-old Georgia Ford, has epilepsy.
On Tuesday, the screen legend attended NYU Langone Medical Center's Find a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) gala, along with Georgia.
"She is joining me to thank FACES, " he told the New York Daily News at the event. "I admire a lot of things about her. I admire her perseverance, her talent, her strength. She’s my hero. I love her."
The actor continued, "When you have a loved one who suffers from this disease, it can be devastating. You know how it affects their lives, their future, their opportunities and you want desperately to find mitigation," adding, "You want to find a way that they can live a comfortable and effective life."
Harrison also gave a heartfelt speech during the fundraising event, during which he talked about the road to Georgia's diagnosis; she had her first seizure as a child at a sleepover but was only given medication for acute migraines.
"A few years later she had another big one, this one on a beach in Malibu, where a Hollywood director found her, luckily," he said. "I said to myself, this is Los Angeles, we have some of the best doctors in the world, they must know what’s wrong with her. But nothing was diagnosed as epilepsy."
It wasn't until Georgia had another episode while she was a student in London that her family finally got the diagnosis from a doctor at NYU.
"Dr. Orrin Devinsky, who is a dear friend, made the diagnosis: epilepsy," Harrison said as he got a little teary-eyed. "He prescribed the right medication and therapy; she has not had a seizure in eight years."
Harrison also told the Daily News that he's thankful for Dr. Devinsky and FACES, noting that they "have been a great service to my family."
The "Star Wars" actor has spoken about epilepsy in the past.
At the 2010 New York City premiere of his film "Morning Glory," he said, "There’s a history of epilepsy in my family and I’m really aware of what a devastating affliction it can be. It not only affects the person who suffers from epilepsy but it affects their entire family."
"It's really important to talk about it," he said. "There's real important cutting-edge research being done in the area and I'm very hopeful that someday, very soon, we're going to find a cure."
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